Not sure exactly why, but my January columns and song titles seem to go
hand in hand. Last year, “Won’t Get
Fooled Again” struck the right chord
of cautious optimism and cynicism
prevalent in the marketplace. Before
that, “You Can’t Always Get What You
Want” summed up a time of frustration, angst and ultimately acceptance
for the consulting profession.

This year, I’m feeling a bit more nostalgic and am going
back a bit further... all the way to 1929’s “Happy Days Are
Here Again”, a song that is associated with both Franklin D.

Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential campaign and the end of prohibition. Two things worth celebrating, for sure. But the irony
of 1929—a year that ended a decade of decadence and began
the Great Depression—isn’t lost on me. And I think the song
is more than an appropriate end to the Great Recession. That’s
right; it’s over. Dead. Gone. Buried. I know this because consulting firm leaders, who have
more access to the corner offices
than anybody, tell me it’s true.

And that’s good enough for me.

In this year’s Executive Outlook, which consists of both
a data-driven survey of more
than 200 consulting executives
and exclusive interviews with
two dozen firm leaders, the results were eye opening. Sure,
firm leaders may have peppered their prognostications with
some cautious caveats, but each and every one of them is
downright bullish on the opportunities in 2014.

The entire 18-page Executive Outlook package begins on
Page 8. Give it a read and after you’re through, just try to convince me you’re not humming right along: “Happy days are
here again; The skies above are clear again; So let’s sing a song
of cheer again; Happy days are here again.”

Joseph Kornik

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
jkornik@consultingmag.com

Firm leaders may
have peppered their
prognostications with some
cautious caveats here and
there, but each and every one
of them is downright bullish
on the opportunities in 2014.